> I am wondering if it would be possible to use mailboxes as document repositories (in addition to emails) and how it could be done. > Should the document be wrapped in a MIME envelop before being uploaded ? > Any software that would actually do that? We too have felt that IMAP would be a good document repository or a general-purpose "object store". For one, it keeps data in a non-proprietary format (more "proprietary" than file systems but much more open than proprietary document management systems). Secondly, it supports better access controls than most file systems that I know of (e.g. you can insert a message in a folder without getting delete rights, etc) Thirdly, an IMAP system offers a higher-level set of primitive ops than a file system, thus allowing easier development of tools for replication, change control, etc. Doing the same things with a file system backend may need messing with kernel code and/or more confusion about "transaction boundaries". For instance, it's a good thing (in this context) that the IMAP protocol does not allow me to write a hundred bytes into the middle of an email message -- this gives me clear hooks to know when a message is updated as a whole, unlike a file in a file system. I am of course not suggesting that an IMAP server be used as replacement for all file systems. I was only thinking of its use as an authoritative document repository, for archival, controlled access and infrequent changes. A file system will always be needed for less-controlled data access and high frequency updates. AFAIK, Kolab uses IMAP folders to store non-email content, like contacts and calendar entries. I could be wrong, and our friends from Kolab AG can tell us more. Shuvam ---- Cyrus Home Page: http://www.cyrusimap.org/ List Archives/Info: http://lists.andrew.cmu.edu/pipermail/info-cyrus/
